They go by the name Paul Carpenter Capital Advisors, but today they’re known as the regular-season champions of the Johnstown Collegiate Baseball League.
Behind a strong local contingent, Paul Carpenter captured its second straight title — and third in four years — when it downed Martella’s Pharmacy Tuesday, 5-3, at Roxbury Park in Johnstown.
The team moved to 24-2. The league playoffs begin Friday.
Fourteen players on the Carpenter roster hail from Westmoreland County and just about every one of them has made an impact at some point during the season, which trudged ahead despite the looming covid-19 pandemic.
The virus did, however, wipe out a decades-long tradition in Johnstown: the AAABA Tournament.
In the title-clinching win, Carpenter struck out 15 and Hempfield grad Justin Wright (St. John’s) launched a two-run home run.
Matt Wicker, a Greensburg Salem grad, added a run-scoring single.
Relief pitchers Hayden Ford and Bobby Kusinski, both out of Penn-Trafford, helped retire 10 straight batters.
The player who leads the defense is catcher Josh Spiegel, another Penn-Trafford grad, who is hitting .395 with a team-leading six home runs and 36 runs. He has 22 RBIs.
Spiegel recently announced plans to transfer from Oklahoma State to a school closer to home.
Tyler Horvat (Penn-Trafford) hits .419, Wright also bats .395 and has 27 runs and 27 RBIs, Wicker hits .364 with a team-high eight driven in, and Jordan Sabol (Penn-Trafford) has a .346 average.
“Our biggest strength is team chemistry,” Wicker said. “A lot of us have played together for a majority of our lives. The noticeable talent that everyone on the team possesses is the cherry on top.”
Ford is 5-1 on the mound with a 0.77 ERA and 42 strikeouts.
Other locals include Christian Pfrogner (Penn-Trafford), Connor Banias (Penn-Trafford), Mario Disso (Penn-Trafford), Shane Stuchell (Hempfield), Zach Seaman (Franklin Regional), Ben Mongelluzo (Penn-Trafford) and Tyler Dancu (Hempfield).
